As Sunday’s elimination rounds progressed, the skies cleared and championships were decided here in Columbus. With just one race left in the 2006 season, everybody has their tuneup set to “kill,” and we saw some amazing action this weekend. Here’s a recap of today’s highlights.

http://promediapub.com/filehost/files/3/kolivas.jpgThere’s been a saying heard around the BFGoodrich Tires Drag Radial class over the last few races, and that saying has proven true. “Everybody’s afraid of Johnny K…” and today Johnny K made that saying come true. By winning his semifinal match, John Kolivas, and his team consisting of father Vern, Jeff Reed from TCI, and tuner Job Spetter Jr., officially put the Drag Radial title hopes of Chad Doyle to rest, and claimed the championship in the class. All he needs to do is show up for the first round in Bowling Green, and the coveted Number One jacket will be his at the banquet in December.

http://promediapub.com/filehost/files/3/hauf.jpgAccording to team member Jeff Rasmussen, Michael Hauf has just about crushed the hopes of Don Walsh Jr. to achieve the unthinkable four-peat in DiabloSport Pro 5.0. “There just aren’t enough rounds of competition left for Donnie to catch us for the title,” Rasmussen told us. With their super-consistent performance this season, the Hauf team puts to bed the bad memories of last season’s struggles, and this will certainly make for a nice ride home to the farm country of Iowa.

http://promediapub.com/filehost/files/3/powell.jpgMaking an incredibly strong case for the Rookie of the Year award, MSD Ignition Super Street Outlaw racer AJ Powell ended the weekend of not only number one qualifier Don Burton in round one, but also “Filthy” Phil Hines in the semifinals before going on to win against Urist in the last round. Powell has been consistently stepping it up all season long, and the work he and his dad have put into the car and the combination is finally starting to pay off for them.

http://promediapub.com/filehost/files/3/zellonis.jpgZoop Zellonis made a record-setting pass in the semifinals of eliminations today, running an 8.532 at 159.91 mph against Bob Cook. His quarterfinal record-eclipsing 8.549 at 159 mph pass backed-up the quicker run to officially reset the Procharger EFI Renegade ET record.

http://promediapub.com/filehost/files/3/sherwin.jpgLast night in qualifying, Tremec Pure Street racer Amy Sherwin had a big incident at the top end when her crankshaft snapped at the 1000-foot mark, sending her into the wall at 120 mph. The car is a total loss, but we are glad to report that she came out of the ordeal without a scratch.

http://promediapub.com/filehost/files/3/uristloose.jpgA scary moment took place in the MSD Super Street Outlaw finals when Fireball John Urist got out of shape in the finals and headed towards the wall. Quick reactions on Urist’s part kept him off the wall, but cost him the win against AJ Powell. Per Urist, something in the chassis isn’t right, and he could tell the moment the car started off the line that he was in trouble.